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  6.  » The moment football STOPPED: The ground fell silent as medics rushed on after Luton captain Tom Lockyer suffered a cardiac arrest…

Luton captain Tom Lockyer is attended to by medical staff after collapsing midway through the game from a cardiac arrest

  • Welsh player is ‘stable’ in hospital, medical staff from Luton have confirmed 
  • Premier League match was abandoned with players deciding not to continue

 Aadam Patel – Daily Mail Dec 16, 2023

Not again. Surely, not again. That was the first thought. The second was fear, worry and concern all rolled into one for a dedicated professional footballer fighting for his life.

Tom Lockyer lay prone on the turf with play continuing at the other end of the field. His manager, Rob Edwards, sprinted on to the pitch, aware that we were witnessing a life-threatening incident.

The referee’s whistle soon blew as the seriousness of the situation dawned on everyone from the stands to the pitch to the press box at this compact little ground on the south coast.

Edwards was soon shepherding distraught players away from the scene like the responsible, impressive young manager he is.

It had happened again though. Lockyer had collapsed on a football pitch for the second time in seven months. Everyone inside the ground hoped and prayed for the best but feared the worst.

They had come to see a football match between two Premier League sides fighting for survival and were now left resigned to watching a 29-year-old man fight for his life.

For the 10 minutes or so between Lockyer suffering a cardiac arrest and getting carried off the pitch on a stretcher, you thought of Lockyer and his family, his friends, his loved ones. They had been through it at May’s Wembley play-off final and were going through it again.

Those in Luton colours were visibly distressed. Lockyer’s team-mate Issa Kabore was on his knees and praying by the side of the pitch. Edwards was close to tears. And so were the Bournemouth players and pretty much everyone else inside the Vitality Stadium.

In June, the Luton captain was given the ‘all clear’ to play football again after his Wembley trauma. Surely now, he won’t play again but that is a story for another day. Thankfully, Lockyer was ‘stable’ and ‘responsive’ last night.

 

Continues …